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Porsche smashes Nurburgring Nordschleife record with 919 Hybrid Evo

Posted on Saturday, June 30, 2018 by Gina Adkins

Porsche smashes Nurburgring Nordschleife record with 919 Hybrid Evo

Porsche's919 Hybrid Evo was up and running early this morning at the Nurburgring's Nordschleife where it successfully beat Stefan Bellof's 35-year-old lap record of the daunting circuit. The press release has been attached at the end.

The new record was set in a 919 Evo, which is the ultimate iteration of Porsche's FIA WEC championship winning LMP1 vehicle. The folks over at Bridge to Gantry have been following Porsche's progress with the unrestricted version of its race auto in the company's quest to establish a new record for the fastest vehicle around the 'Ring. The 991.2 GT3 RS comes a close third with a time of 6:56.4 minutes.

Watch the record-breaking run in the video below. The previous record has been around for 35 years.

This might not be the end of the story as Porsche could try to shave off even more seconds.

It is believed the 919 Evo will also attempt similar feats at Laguna Seca and Brands Hatch. In an ideal scenario, a 4:51 time could be within reach.

Keep in mind that the 1,160 hp German missile's time will bring an absolute Ring record.

The Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo is a development of the Le Mans LMP1 prototype with which Porsche won the Le Mans 24-hour race in 2015, 2016 and 2017 as well as the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) three times in a row.

Wrestling the vehicle through all 12.94 miles of track was Timo Bernhard, a five-time victor of the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race and two-time overall victor at Le Mans. Both the front diffuser and rear wing contain drag-reduction systems, and compared to the regulated 919, this auto puts out 53 percent more downforce. The outright record at the "Green Hell", as the Nurburgring Nordschleife is otherwise known, was held by Porsche's own 956 C with Stefan Bellof at the wheel, charting a time of six minutes 11.13 seconds.